SAF WINS REGIONAL AUSTRALIAN BIOSECURITY AWARD

As the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) commemorates 20 years of training at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Australia, news of it winning the North East region Regional Australian Biosecurity Award has added to the celebration.

The Australian Biosecurity Awards, which comprise Regional and National awards, recognise individuals, groups or companies which have contributed to Australia's biosecurity effort in the past 12 months. Biosecurity is a set of measures taken to protect people, animals and the environment against infectious diseases, pests and other biological threats.

Currently in Australia from 24 Sep to 26 Nov to conduct the 20th edition of the annual Exercise Wallaby, the SAF's Exercise Wallaby 2010 Forward Support Group (Ex WB 10 FSG) was presented with one of four Regional awards.

The team was selected based on their excellent facilitation of the offshore inspection of vehicles and equipment by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Services.

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Terry Tan, Commander of the Ex WB 10 FSG, represented the SAF in receiving the award on 17 Nov in Brisbane.

Explaining what FSG did to win the award, LTC Tan, who is also Commander 3rd Army Maintenance Base, said: "Prior to our entry into the country (Australia), the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service inspected our assets, equipment and even boots for things such as sand, seeds and snails, that can cause damage to their local environment and agriculture.

"Through feedback and lessons learnt from previous exercises in Australia, we implemented new processes and equipped our FSG members and our contractors with skills such as supervision, washing and preparation of equipment to do the job more effectively."

Along with three other winners of the Regional Award this year, the SAF qualifies for the National Award, which will be presented in Canberra on 22 Nov by the Guest of Honour, Minister for Mines and Petroleum; Fisheries; Electoral Affairs Norman Moore.

Since 1990, the SWBTA has been the training ground for Exercise Wallaby, one of the SAF's largest unilateral training exercises. Its challenging and rough terrain provides the SAF with a realistic training environment to hone its operational readiness.

Last year in May, on the sidelines of the 8th Shangri-La Dialogue, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean and then Australian Minister for Defence Joel Fitzgibbon signed a Memorandum of Agreement to extend the SAF's use of the SWBTA to 2019.